Let’s forget about movie remakes for a minute and take a second to really think about the importance of video game remakes. Next month, the horror video game Friday the 13th will be hitting all consoles due to a passion project that brought back one of the most loved video games from the 80’s.

Friday the 13th is a cult classic, but the 80’s game was horrible. Pure trash. Then again, most of the Atari and NES games weren’t all that great, and due to the technology you just can’t blame them. It wasn’t about making a game that reflected a film. Instead, it was about working with 8 bits and making the most of it.

I wanted this game so bad for the NES, I’m almost embarrassed to admit it. But Friday the 13th was the IT game when it was first released. And that lasted for a few years when I was old enough to drool at the sales window.

Friday the 13th The Game

This remake is more than just a game; it’s an effort to pay homage to the Friday the 13th movies with a game that will mimic the fear and add all the pop culture references.

I expect naked teenagers trying to grind in the forest of a desolate camp with a masked stranger intent on cockblocking each and every single one of them. How could they not feature all of the hallmarks of Jason movies with slashing, blood, stalking, and half-naked bodies?

Most of the horror games from the 80’s were based on the movies they were named after. All of them experienced crap visuals and storylines that didn’t really match up. They all deserve to be remade in the same way that Jason’s classic film will be.

With the graphics and visuals of today, these video games could be spectacular. Not to mention, that the writers would take in-depth consideration a plot that will actually make sense.

Here’s a list of the ten 80’s video games that deserve a remake:

Nightmare on Elm Street

Spiders, falling rocks, and bats, oh my. At least Freddy shows up as a boss occasionally. Other than that, there was nothing that even remotely had any connection to the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. It’s probably worse than Friday the 13th, AKA “looking through a million random cabins and barely ever seeing Jason anywhere till the end.”

Jaws

Please.

If they were to re-do Jaws, I would want an entire game set in the ocean. Underwater diving and Night time swimming could lead to some pretty unexpected surprises. Imagine a bucket of dead fish accidentally falls in the water. The story is practically writing itself.

The Evil Dead

I have no idea what’s going on here.

Here’s what I picture in a newer version: a cabin with five teenagers and demons popping up during an exploration of the grounds. This one has so much potential it hurts.

Alien

This was basically Pac-man with aliens or what they want us to assume are aliens.

The movie Alien has had quite a few games made since the 80’s. I just wanted to add this one to the list because it’s so bad.

Halloween

It’s so hard to be mad at this one with the three happy pumpkins at the top of the screen.

A recreation could make use of an RPG in a very dark house and Michael Myers sneaking around the premises.

Chiller

Chiller was advanced for its time but lacked in all the same ways these other games did. It was a shooting game for NES that allowed you to shoot ghosts, bodies, and other entities for apparently no reason at all.

To remake this one, they would have to create a story behind the horror in the torture room and graveyard. This one would require a lot of work.

Gremlins

I never saw Gremlins as a scary movie, but I think that the creators believed that the ugliness of the creatures would give the film a darker tone in the midst of Gizmo’s cuteness and the humor.

I mean the Gremlin with the lipstick was my absolute favorite.

This game was about collecting the gizmos in a span of a few minutes. The gizmos couldn’t touch the food because it turns them into Gremlins. Neither the Gremlins and Gizmos could touch the water because then they would multiply.

I envision a remake with Gizmo as a sidekick. The darkness of the game would all depend on how scary the creators would want to make the slimy creatures.

Ghost Manor

Somehow the rainbow unicorn-like ghost doesn’t scare me. This game could be marvelous as a mansion, much like the game Clue. Investigating a dimly lit hall with all the creeky sounds in the distance could work for Ghost Manor. Maybe it could also be a scary mission just getting into the place.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based on a true story so an expertly produced video game would be fantastic. In this particular game, you are the crazy man with the chainsaw killing everything in sight, but I think that it would work better the other way around. A group of people running from the chainsaw loon, much like the movie, could be a great horror game.

Phantasm

That theme music is everything. The Tall man from the movie Phantasm was what my nightmares were made of. Not to mention the old man from poltergeist caused a lot of sleepless nights.

This game would be best with the Tall man turning the townspeople into zombies and the silver flying spheres with daggers as one of the threats when fighting the last battle against him.

What retro games would you like to see a remake of? comment below or message me here to talk more 80’s games that need to be brought into the future: